Kota Damansara: The hotbed gets hotter

LOCATED in Petaling Jaya, Kota Damansara is a township that started in 1992 and spans 1,620ha. The township borders Sungai Buloh as well as other townships bearing the “Damansara” moniker — Damansara Damai, Sunway Damansara and Bandar Sri Damansara, to name a few.

Being near such areas give it access to various niceties and hotspots popular among urban residents, such as 1 Utama, The Curve, IKEA and Tropicana City Mall.

The Damansara-Puchong Expressway (LDP) is the most direct route to Kota Damansara, followed by the North Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE) and the old Subang Airport Road. The recent opening of the Sungai Buloh-Kajang Mass Rapid Transit line provides Kota Damansara with direct rail access via the Kota Damansara station - previously, the nearest railway stations were KTM Sungai Buloh (KTM Komuter) and LRT Kelana Jaya (RapidKL). At present, Sungai Buloh is the only interchange station, where KTM Komuter and the MRT services meet.

Tropicana Gardens

Being one of the early Damansara townships, prior to the area’s urban and corporate boom, Kota Damansara leans very heavily towards residential offerings, with more than 600ha earmarked for housing. From the map, one can observe that the majority of existing projects are concentrated around the centre.

Meanwhile, projects currently underway — Emporis and Tropicana Garden — are banking on the potential in Sungai Buloh and Tropicana, its neighbouring areas.

Continuing along the line of upcoming projects, these fetch comparatively higher prices than their completed centralised counterparts. Both projects are priced at above RM800 per sq ft, with built-up areas starting at just shy of 600 sq ft to a maximum of 2,724 sq ft.

Meanwhile, existing completed projects are in abundance, with prices hovering around RM201 to RM600 per sq ft. Most of these projects were completed around the early 2000’s, and the built-up area starts from 561 sq ft (Cascades) to a maximum of 2,850 sq ft (Cova Suites). These affordable projects should remain affordable for the time being — at least, until the opening of the next series of MRT stations in the Sungai Buloh-Kajang line, tentatively scheduled for August 1.

Kota Damansara at its current state is more of a value buy, but it holds potential, especially as the MRT infrastructure further develops, with upcoming stations linking the township to KL Sentral — Klang Valley’s rail transport hub. Expect prices to come up soon, along with demand from the working class who are looking for convenient access to workplaces and urban niceties.